Nowadays, credit cards are essential to get almost anything you could have in mind. In fact, many companies condition their service to subscriptions by credit card, and some others will ask about having or not having one to evaluate you. Whether you already have a credit card or you are thinking to get one, it is important that you keep in mind the common credit card mistakes that could make your personal finances tumble down.
Credit Cards Are NOT Extra Money
Perhaps the most common mistake people make is forgetting that credit cards provide them with a credit line, which is money to be repaid with their own income. Planning your purchases based on your credit card limit is unrealistic if you cannot repay. The limit of your credit line is often a debt trap you must avoid to fall into by being realistic on how much money you can repay every month and not what is the credit card limit.
Getting More than a Credit Card
Although it is often advisable to have more than one credit card, do not take this advice as a synonym for “get as many cards as you can.” Effectively, some people face hard times getting their first credit card, but the second one could be easier and encourage them to try for a third, fourth, and so on. Moreover, many individuals bluff about their creditworthiness or wealth based on the number of credit cards they have, but that they often cannot repay. If you do not want to ruin your personal finances, be aware that the more credit cards you have the more debt and trouble to repay it.
Credit to Pay for Credit
This is another of the widespread mistakes when it comes to having one, two or many credit cards; getting a loan to repay the debt. The worst part of this approach to finances is that payday loans are often the easiest way to get the cash needed to make a credit card payment, but even if you consider to get a personal loan instead or pawn something to get the payment covered, you are opening the door to new financial problems having to repay those loans and their associated high interest rates.
Focusing on Minimum
What makes having a credit card appealing is that the issuer lures you about how easy it is to pay a minimal amount each month. Yes, you can repay the minimum that appears in your credit card statement, but by doing this you are prolonging your debt. The minimum payment does not cover what you owe, but only the interest and finance fees, increasing your debt rather than diminishing it.
Skipping Payments
Sometimes it seems to be impossible to make at least the minimum payment, even if you are considering payday loans as a solution. So that, you may think that skipping one month’s payment will not hurt you at all. However, skipping payments generate penalty fees and damage your credit history, so you must be aware of all these common mistakes with credit cards to avoid them.